Will Allegations Force Franken To Resign?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- In the aftermath of another woman coming forward with allegations against Sen. Al Franken, two progressive groups are now calling for his resignation.
Within hours of Lindsay Menz's story of an "uncomfortable moment" with Franken at the 2010 Minnesota State Fair, the groups Credo and Indivisible called for the senator to resign immediately.
While the groups may not be household names, they claim to have millions of progressive members - members who, until a few days ago, saw Franken as one of their champions.
Amid their anti-Trump tweets, the progressive group Indivisible tweeted its call to its 216,000 followers:
We believe Lindsay Menz. We believe Leeann Tweeden. Senator @alfranken should be held accountable and he should resign.
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) November 20, 2017
Credo, a group which claims 5 million social activist members, also called for Franken to step down:
STATEMENT: Sexual harassment & assault have no place in the progressive movement or in our society. @SenFranken had the chance to take full responsibility & he failed. Sen. Franken should resign from the Senate. @GovMarkDayton should appoint a progressive woman to replace him. pic.twitter.com/bgSvmwi9Td
— CREDO Mobile (@CREDOMobile) November 20, 2017
Comments on Senator Franken's Facebook page range from support to demands for his resignation. The thousands of comments are in response to his last public post on the scandal from Thursday.
Political analyst Prof. David Schultz believes Franken's failure to speak publicly and answer reporters' questions is not helping his cause.
"Right now, it looks like a bunker mentality -- either looking like he is hiding something, or else doesn't want to come out and face the press," Schultz said.
While the Tweeden complaint of a forced kiss and groping took place before he was a Senator, the Menz allegation was in 2010 -- two years after he was elected.
"That starts to raise questions about his judgement and his character," Schultz said.
The Minnesota DFL party is not rushing to his defense. Chairman Ken Martin released a statement calling the Menz complaint, "troubling and highlights the need for an immediate and thorough ethics investigation into Senator Franken's behavior."
A number of the state's most prominent Democrats who were quick to condemn Senator Franken after the Leeann Tweeden story went public last week have been silent today and have not offered comments on this latest allegation.
Among those not coming today, Governor Dayton, Senator Klobuchar and Congressman Keith Ellison.